Beauty standards and are they fair?

You have probably heard all kinds of talk about beauty standards and how they affect a lot of people all over the world. Many people have had trouble with body image and self-esteem but some don’t. The truth is, 7 in 10 girls believe that they do not measure up in some way to beauty standards.

When I use the term “beauty standards,” everybody has a different definition, opinion, and views. Because of this, I made a survey to see exactly what are the beauty standards here at Highland Park, who students think runs the beauty standards, and if these standards are fair. This is what some people said:

How Confident Are You?

Many people said they are confident or extremely confident. Actually 15 out of 20 people responded like that. It surprised me because along with these answers the other 5 that said they are either not confident or extremely not-confident. Given these results, I tried to make a connection to the responses, and I couldn’t really seem to find one except that 4 out of the 5 that said not confident to extremely not-confident are managing a mental illness.

What Are beauty Standards In Your Mind?

I found this section of the survey very interesting. Mostly because in both sections of the confidence levels most felt very strongly about what it means to them. Here is what some people said:

A set of rules to oppress people.

Dressing or looking like other people

Wearing makeup

Showing more skin

Big Eyes

Slim figure

Things people say that make them believe they are beautiful or not beautiful

So, as you can see, there are many different opinions and views on what beauty standards are. Because these responses were in both sections and had no connection to mental illnesses, like in the question “How Confident Are You?” it leads me to believe that beauty standards are just there in our minds. Maybe we don’t think about them all day every day but they are there and we are very aware as adolescents as to what beauty standards are.

Do You Think These Standards Are Fair?

A lot of people circled “no” saying that the standards are not fair. 14 out of 20 people said that the beauty standards are not fair. And on the flip side there were also those that said that the standards are indeed fair. So, if you could choose. What would you choose. Fair or Unfair? Real or unreal?

So every single person is different. Everybody has their own views on so many different things and this one topic in particular shows this. Because this can sometimes be a strong or hard topic to talk about for people, it shows that, yes, people have their own opinions and we have to respect them. Beauty standards affect the world as a whole, and it’s up to you to change it or keep it. Could you imagine a world without judgment or misunderstanding?